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Worth a listen for their unique sound, good band.

The indie, rock, pop, folk quartet were brought to my attention on Later... With Jools Holland (which for the rrecord is a great program!) and I was blown away. They sounded really fresh! They're made up of two pairs of brothers and sisters which perhaps goes someway to explain it!

Mornings ElevenA mish mash song with plenty in there. The twangly clean guitar and solid drums give good grounding for Romeo to sing over his sorrows, there are some great backing vocals as well which really thicken the sound and the banjo is a great touch. The breakdown is great too. It feels folky and bluesy and has those great pop melodies and harmonies.

Forever LostThe ominous beginning chord sets the mood for Romeo's ponderous vocals on a perhaps lost love. The verse is incredible but for me the chorus feels as bit like a letdown a bit cliched in sound for me. The instrumentation is adventurous for a pop group and The Magic Numbers aren't afraid to be different.

Long LegsHeavy chugging guitar and funky bass set the fast paced track which is fantastic. I can't place my finger on Romeo's accent but it sounds fantastic when he sing 'I don't think I'll ever see your face again'. Again maybe the chorus is too poppy for my liking. The guitar is great: inventive and simple (the best always is).

Love's A GameThe slower song captures the thoughs of a public. Romeo's hesistant croon sounds brilliant as always, strangely so. I believe a singer should be individual and I've never been a fan of 'traditionally good' singers. The song feels a bit cliched but there we go what do you expect with a title like that.

Theres some real jems here even if some are a bit cliched and the harmonies often feel too poppy. The second half is not as strong as the first however and good songs become few. It deserves a listen as The Magic Numbers have an original sound which is very likeable. I don't know where they've gone though as I haven't heard anything from them for some time now.

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The Magic Numbers are one of those bands I've heard mentioned, and always said 'I don't know any of their stuff'. Not being a great buyer of music, I never did get around to buying any of theirs until a few weeks ago when, for the grand sum of 50 pence, I nabbed this album from a charity shop.

Now, I'm not completely ignorant - I know the Band is formed of two sets of brother and sister, and I know what they look like , having seen various pictures of them - and you know, their image is pretty refreshing - slightlygothy looking girls with more curve than you see in the standard pop pap, long haired beardy blokes . You know what, they look just like normal people - no packaging, no matching outfits , no dance routines .

So, time for a listen . My overall impression of the music is that is catchy yet simple - male led vocals with simple femala harmonising in the background, some nice guitar playing, and quite foot tappy. The musics pretty soft and gentle, indie pop/ folk , and rather chilled out .

Stand out tracks for me include :

The Mule : Quite a slow track in comparison to some of the others, almost jazzy in parts, and with some really quite poetic lyrics that express a ans dissapointment in himself and his actions, and his fear that his partner might give up on him . At least, thats my interpretation of the lyrics . I took it on board a bit I think because one of my ex's was an alcoholic and it took me far too long to break up with him, so the lyrics - ' How many times must I stumble in drunk before you scold me , Why is it you have to turn out all the lights before you hold me?' - really rang true for me .

Despite it not being a happy song - it's still catchy . I found myself easily picking up the female parts of the song in the harmony, and on repeat listens, I sang along.

Forever Lost is another song that stands out for me , faster paced, and repeated mentions of the sun make me think summery thoughs when I listen to this track . The female voices join in more on this track, singing without the male voice at one point , adding just that little bit of needed depth to an otherwise very very simple song .

Mornings Eleven is incredibly sing-a-longable , Love Me Like You is foot tappingly good, and overall I enjoyed the whole album . Not having really heard the music before, I didn't go in with any expectations, and can honestly say I enjoyed the whole album, and it was worth what I paid for it several times over . Well worth a listen!

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Even victor Meldrew would crack a smile

The Magic numbers are one of many bands who have used the summer music festivals as a platform to lauch their careers, with their feel good indie pop being the perfect soundtrack to lying blissed out in a field with your peers!!

With a lot of the current new bands tending to be experimental to the point of ridiculousness, mixing electro with folk and rap with accoustic guitars, The magic numbers are refreshong in that they rely purely on strong melodies and beutiful harmonies to carry the album through.

This was an album that on the first listen sounded a bit plain to my ears as i normally go for bands with a bit more immediate punch (kings of leon, razorlight ect..) But now i am familiar with it i would even go as far as saying the single 'Love me like you' was my overall favourite track of 2005. The songwriting skills of this track really are astounding as every chord of the verses and intro are as catchy as the euphoric chorus.

The album opens with 'mornings eleven' anouther standout track which mixes cool guitar riffs with sweet female backing vocals that would charm the pants off your nan!! This is probably what i find most impressive about The Magic Numbers, their ability to turn almost twee melodies into soring masterpeices.

Other tracks that stand out for me include 'Long Legs' and the first single from the albulm 'Forever Lost'. They both have infectous beats and tend to be quite up tempo. The tracks i am not so keen on including 'wheels on fire' and 'Love is a Game' may well be other peoples favourites as they are not in any way weak tracks, they are just too slow for my taste and i find them a bit boring after a few listens.

This band are also a refreshing proposition in the flesh, In the eyes of Hoxton hipsters and trendsetters alike they are about as fashionable as fairy goths!! They comprise of two sets of brothers and sisters who are all jolly rolly polly personified. In a way being, to be blatant, ugly (sorry) has helped them alot as they really do stand out and dont have that overstyled commercial look that some modern day indie bands try to hide that they have!! Kaiser cheifs anyone???

To round it up, this is a perfect sunday chillout album that will reallly grow on you, and now through the cold long winter will be a brilliant reminder of all your favourite summer moments off 2005.

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The debut album by new group The Magic Numbers.

The Magic Numbers are a fairly recent addition to the music scene in comparison to some of the firmly established bands of our time. Id never even heard of them until a couple of weeks ago when they appeared on one of the music channels so I wouldnt be surprised if youre sat thinking who the hell is she on about! Their first and only album was released in the UK back in June 2005 and has proved to be mildly popular. You may be familiar with their Top 20 single entitled Forever Lost or their second single Love Me Like You.

The group consists of four individuals who happen to be two separate sets of siblings. The first set is Trinidad born brother Romeo and sister Michele, both responsible for vocals and the former responsible for the majority of the song writing. The second set is London born brother Sean on drums and sister Angela on percussion. For once were spared the classic anorexic blonde females and the spikey haired males and instead find ourselves presented with four terribly normal looking individuals, almost eccentric in a sense and heavily country-fied.

Now to give you an idea of the genre of music they are associated with Id say its heavily indie with a small mix of soft pop added in for good measure. Theyve been compared to modern day bands such as Kaiser Chiefs and The Doves while they prefer to say their inspiration comes from older role models such as Bob Dylan and Mamas & Papas. Their sound is certainly individual and is often reminiscent of the fifties and sixties music.

The album opens with Mornings Eleven which has a sharp base feel to it throughout which gives it an almost on edge feeling. The lyrics are surprisingly upbeat and rather carefree at the same time, Call me if youre on your own, and maybe I can meet you in the morning. The mood of the song is rather odd, theres no single meaning to this song, whereas the majority of songs focus on love/love hurts/new love, etc. this song is surprisingly empty of much meaning. Whether thats a good thing or bad thing Im still undecided but one thing is for sure, this group understand that sometimes less can in fact be more. Forever Lost is up next which is their only single released so far that has appeared in our charts. Once you hear it Im sure youll recognise it, its strangely upbeat for a painful love song, Dont let the sun be the one to change you baby is easily my favourite lyric from this song. Its a fast paced hippy song with a very sixties country feel to it almost, yet the indie genre in present and reminds me of Razorlight or The Killers softer songs. On Amazon it was commented on that the song had superb melodies and was a worthwhile buy for any lover of music, a brilliant track in my opinion.

The Mule is the third song up on the album and again makes full use of the world of percussion that we have available to us. Its quirky and almost has a cheeky feel to it, as if you could imagine the singer standing there with his head cocked and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth! Certainly firmly a love song, and a negative one at that, Why dont you look him in the eye? Ah you wont see nothing at all. Towards the middle the mood changes and goes rather solemn, a nice depressing song that still maintains a quick beat to it. Long Legs is next up and sounds completely different to the first three at the opening, its speedy and jumpy, almost like a modern rock song. It soon reverts back to the typical style of The Magic Numbers with some brilliant melodies in the vocals department and again is reminiscent of those happy hippy backing tracks.

Love Me Like You is one of my favourite tracks on the album and firmly resides within the indie/pop field. This is probably the other song youll recognise as this has also been released from the album, She dont love me like you, she dont know what you do, and its all hard, she dont care what you say, so just say it say it anyway its all hard. Again its got a fast base underneath the lyrics which keeps the song progressing and some brilliant guitar playing also makes an appearance in this track. Its original and almost a little bit eccentric too with a hippy feel to it again. The chorus is really catchy and I think youll find it hard not to start singing along!

Which Way To Happy changes the mood of the album somewhat with a slight Italian feel to it and its also much slower compared to the previous five songs. The vocals sounds completely different on this track as well, slightly surreal almost with very little backing music as the track progresses. Why did I choose to refuse you, its not that I used you, I left when I should have, believe that I could have held on, but you never let go. Its not really one of the better tracks on the album as it is very sombre and slightly glum as well. Its all sung at the same pitch really which makes it feel slightly monotone and almost turns it into a track I want to skip! I See You, You See Me is the seventh track on the album and again is reminiscent in slowness to the previous track. The whole mood and tone of the song is very much similar to something by Coldplay or David Gray yet even more bare in a sense. Its alright I never thought Id fall in love again, Its alright I look to you as my only friend. Its sung in the style of a duet between Romeo and Michele about their past relationship, slightly bizarre as they are siblings(!). I really love this song, it somehow manages to get inside your whole body, the chorus is really catchy once again and its a definite hit to the future.

Dont Give Up The Fight reverts back to the faster sounding tracks at the start of the album and is also much more up tempo than the previous tracks. I really like the lyrics in this track She turned and she said to me baby baby please, dont give up this fight, I saw you dance tonight, baby please, dont give up this fight. It reminded me when I first heard it of something by Mamas & Papas and is another future hit for the group. This Love has a similar opening to the quieter tracks on the album, especially Which Way To Happy and reminded me of Damien Rice at some points during the song. Theres also backing music here in the form of a violin which make the song feel very melodic and classy in a sense too. Its a very still and calming song, ideal for when youre wanting to go to sleep! Wheels On Fire is probably my least liked song on the album. Its very quiet, you have to adjust the volume to actually hear the lyrics and its also rather grave and sober once again but in a way thats not at all captivating in my opinion.

Love Is A Game is another quirky and enchanting song which somehow finds a balance between the faster tracks and the slower ones on this album. And maybe Im a fool for walking in life, and maybe I should try to leave this time. Once again theres some great harmonies that appear throughout this track, the singers voices really do complement each other with Romeos being quite gravely almost and Micheles being almost angelic like with a very sweet feel to it. The last track on the album is Try and is a massive seven minutes long which I think any band would find hard to pull off without just merely repeating themselves over and over again. Its rather dull to be honest as are the majority of final songs on albums and not one that will really stick in your mind from this album.

So to sum it up Id say on the whole its a fantastic album and one well worth buying. It consists of a mixture of country, hippy if there is such a type of music indie and pop. Its highly original, very enchanting at times too and Id say its worth a listen regardless of your music tastes. There are a few poorer tracks on the album but its hard to find one these days that is completely perfect, but in my opinion the good tracks certainly make up for this. Its nice to finally find a band that doesnt sound like about 10 others on the scene at the moment  purely unique!

You can buy this album for £8.99 on Amazon or Play and for £13.99 in HMV.

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Product Details

Disc #1 Tracklisting1 Mornings Eleven2 Forever Lost3 The Mule4 Long Legs5 Love Me Like You6 Which Way To Happy7 I See You, You See Me8 Don't Give Up The Fight9 This Love10 Wheels On Fire11 Love is A Game12 Try